Do to others....

...as you would have them to do you.

The modern day church takes the cake on feeding children guilt-laden sundays.

Don't get me wrong, it's very subtle and almost caring and genuine. Sneaky, very sneaky.

You are taught to become a martyr to yourself... that you are never going to be good enough without the blood of Jesus. I may believe that I need Jesus' love and acceptance to hang out with him for eternity... but I don't need it to be a good person here on earth.

Plenty of non-believers can be loving and giving and kind and all the things that 1 Corinthians 13 says. I can smile alot and feel genuine love without believing that Jesus died on a cross. I can build houses for hurricane victims and complete beautiful, spiritual art projects as a "pagan."

And all the while, i can feel good, genuinely good, about myself. And I don't believe that has anything to do with Jesus.

Now, let's say I do follow "christian" doctrine. And I live my life in the shadow of Jesus of Nazereth's life. That's just swell. I think if everybody on this planet lived like Jesus did we'd be a whole lot better off... and we'd have some damn good self-esteem. The same could be said about Mother Teresa, the Dali Lama or even some new-age betty living in the forests of Oregon.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that for YEARS I have had no real, true love for myself. At some points in my life, I think the church fed that feeling... by making feel as though without Jesus, I am nothing. That is simply not true. I am a human. I am capable of loving others AS MUCH AS I love MYSELF!!!!! I am capable of doing great things. And I am capable of thinking - of using the brain that God has bestowed upon human nature in positive and creative ways.

I am not capable of being in God's presence without the blood of Jesus. Thank God for that... that's all we should be given. The rest is up to us.

Love your neighbor... but also love yourself. You can't treat someone else kindly if you can't treat yourself kindly.

Under Construction

Bear with me as I try to figure out how to put links on my blog. Right now if you click on "Sharon's World" it takes you to my myspace page... which is definitely not Sharon's world! Here's her blog site... read it, she'll make you laugh (if you're as intelligent as I think you are).

http://donethismanytimes.blogspot.com/

Kinky for Governor!!!

I know some of you have read this on my myspace, but get used to it... election day is coming!

This is the official Kinky Campaign page on Myspace. Accept no substitutes!

TEN REASONS TO ELECT KINKY FRIEDMAN GOVERNOR OF TEXAS


1. "My only special interest group is the people of Texas." Without a political party to appease or lobbyists to pay back, Kinky will answer only to the people of Texas.


2. What's wrong with this picture? The Republican and Democrat candidates spent $100 million in the last governor's race—for a job that pays $100,000 a year! And less than a third of eligible voters showed up at the polls. Texans didn't die at the Alamo so only 29% of us would vote in our elections.


3. Put teachers in charge of education! They do our most important job, yet teachers in Texas get paid over $6,000 a year less than the national average. Kinky will boot the career desk jockeys out of the education system, put teachers in charge at every level, and end teaching to a test that gets dumber every year.


4. Keep our kids safe. Texas prisons are full of drug addicts who are sick, not criminals. Let's get them into treatment and out of prison, so there's enough room to lock up sexual predators for the rest of their lives.


5. If you're born poor, don't get sick in Texas. Only one in five children has health insurance in Texas. If the best test of government and a society is how it treats its poorest citizens, Texas is failing badly.


6. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Political correctness has become stifling in Texas. Kinky wants to "de-wussify" Texas. People ought to be able to wish each other "Merry Christmas" if they want to. The Ten Commandments shouldn't be reduced to "The Ten Suggestions." And a man (or a woman) ought to be able to light a cigar once in awhile.


7. Make Texas an international leader in the emerging renewable energy industry. Renewable energy is becoming one of the world's biggest growth industries, and only 0.7% of Texas' energy comes from renewable energy. Using proven technologies like biodiesel—fuel you can grow—we can expand Texas' economy, create jobs, and help get America off the Saudi oil merry-go-round.


8. The two-party system is broken. The current governor isn't getting it done. The Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature aren't getting it done. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, Texas is plumb crazy.


9. The best people get the job. With no political party demanding patronage jobs for party hacks, Kinky will hire the most qualified person for every job in his administration. Then he'll get out of their way so they can do their job—and make state government really work for the people of Texas.


10. It's time for Texas to declare independence from politics-as-usual. Texans are the most independentminded people in America. The last independent governor of Texas was Sam Houston. The time has arrived for the next independent governor of Texas—Kinky Friedman!

Tribute to Sylvia Plath

One of my favorite poems inspired by Sylvia Plath... composed by yours truly on 19.02.2006, a day before my 27th birthday:

(Inspiration: She wrote in the Bell Jar that there was nothing in life that a hot bath couldn't cure... and oh how right she was...here are my thoughts)

Steaming, cleansing, healing, soothing water
Sweet smell and touch and sight and sound and taste
Every sense engaged in quiet understanding
The weight of the reality of life washed away, down the drain
I've found the cure.

Long time, no blog

Goodness, my ole friend Sharon just posted on myspace that she would be blogging here... and I revisited my blog and realized it's been a while. I like blogging. I really like reading other people's stuff mostly... it inspires me to write... which I used to be really good at... and now I'm not too sure.

Like I use the three periods way too much... I'm not even sure what the technical term is for that... but I tend to over use them.

Bear with me, I'm getting warmed up. I've blogged a bit on myspace... I'll post some of those here.

The past year has been crizzazy. I am now in a full-time relationship for almost one year and have learned more about myself than I ever did in college or church camp or even overseas. It's been a rough journey at times, but a very powerful learning experience at the same time.

I'm working on not letting my relationship define me. For years that was the last thing I wanted... and somehow I've lost little pieces of myself over the past few months. I'm reclaiming those pieces slowly and surely... and with my best friend by my side. It's been worth the growing pains.

Sometimes I miss the Suzanne I used to be.... and then I realize that this is just part of the journey of life. I am still Suzanne and I am still all the things I used to be... just stripping away the tarnish to reveal the stunning chrome beneath.

I hope people will read my stuff and be inspired, entertained or at least killing some time.

And I hope I can rekindle some of the creative writing spark that I had at one point in time.